“It didn’t,” she said, swallowing. “He was abusive—psychologically and physically. It was awful, but I didn’t think there was a way out. He made it seem as though I wasn’t going to do any better, and I felt stuck with him. I tried to break up with him once or twice, but he wouldn’t let me. Eventually, though, it got to be too much, and I finally managed to get up the courage to leave him. One night, I got him drunk enough that I knew he would pass out and not get up for several hours, then I snuck out of the house.” She let out a laugh. “Definitely the coward’s way out, but I was too scared to do anything else.”
“I would say that there’s nothing cowardly about getting away from that bastard,” Cillian growled. “No matter how you did it. You should be proud of yourself.”
She let out a hollow, disbelieving laugh but didn’t respond to the comment. She sucked in a breath as Cillian cleaned the scrape on her temple. When he retreated to pull out a bandage, she asked, “Why were you looking for him?”
He debated whether he should answer. It was in his nature to keep things close to the chest. Except, after everything she’d been through, he figured the least he could do was tell her the truth.
“Eric is part of a group that call themselves the Night Pack,” he explained. “It probably happened after you left. They’re bad news. A few years ago, they took over a pack and ended up killing a lot of people in the process. They were planning on branching out and taking over more packs. Our guess was that they were going to keep expanding their influence and absorb as many packs as they feasibly could, assuming they ever stopped. Anyway, we were sent to stop them. We got their leader and some of the higher-ups, but a few got away. I got a call a few days ago that they had cropped up once more. I went to investigate. It was pure luck that I came around when I did.”
He continued cleaning off her feet. They weren’t as bad as he’d worried, but they would be tender to walk on for a while. He wrapped them in bandages to prevent infection, anyway.
“You bought me,” she said.
He glanced up, still holding her ankle. There was a hint of a question at the end of that sentence, an opening. She wanted to know why. He shrugged, finished applying the gauze, and gently lowered her leg. His fingers lingered on her calf.
“It was the only way I could think of getting you away from him quickly,” he said. “He seemed like the type of guy who wouldn’t pass up the chance to earn some easy money.”
“Well, thanks,” she muttered. Then, “I’ll pay you back, by the way. I won’t be able to pay you fully for a while, but I can give you a chunk now and pay you back in installments.”
Cillian cracked a grin. “You don’t need to worry about it. Between you and me, I got a very, very generous pension when I retired from the military. Let’s just say that what I spent to get you out was a drop in a very large, very full bucket.”
“I’m still going to pay you back,” she said, some of that certainty and fire he had come to expect from her returning.She lifted her head to meet Cillian’s gaze. “I’m not going to be beholden to anyone.”
He understood what she meant.
“If you insist,” he said. “But I’m not going to hold you to it. Take as long as you need.”
He didn’t miss the relief that flickered across her face. “Thanks,” she murmured.
“I think I’m done here. You should be all right. Why don’t you get some rest?” he suggested. “There are a couple of spare bedrooms on the second floor. I’d suggest the second on the left. It’s one of the nicer ones.”
She yawned, but shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, but right now, I just want to go home.”
Cillian shook his head. “It’s better if you stay here for now,” he said. “At least until we get the details sorted out.”
Amber’s brow furrowed as she tilted her head. “Details?”
“About the wedding.”
The confusion on her face only deepened. “Wedding?”
He nodded. “After everything that’s happened, I think we need to get married.”
At first, she stared at him. Then she laughed. When Cillian didn’t join in or even crack a smile, her jaw dropped.
“What?” she asked.
“After what you told me about this asshole? I wouldn’t be surprised if he snatched you up again if he saw the opportunity. The best way of keeping you safe is if we get married.”
“You’ve lost your mind,” she said. “I’m not going to marry you.”
“Yes, you are,” he said. “I’m not going to let that fucker get his hands on you again.”
She shot to her feet. He towered over her, but her own glare seemed to almost bring her up to his eye level. “I’m not going to agree to a marriage,” she said, her voice defiant. He didn’t miss the way her hands had balled into fists. “That’s complete bullshit.”
“I’m not giving you a choice,” Cillian said. “This is happening.”
“No!”
